For a first establishment in France, Gordon Oldham chose Fiac, a small village of 920 inhabitants. After Rome, Bali, Phuket in Thailand or Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, this 75-year-old lawyer, founder of the hotel group The Pavilions Hotels and Resorts, decided ten years ago to buy a castle in very poor condition and its park. three hectares for a confidential amount. The residence built in the 19th century, which belonged to an Albigensian industrial family then to a Marianist religious congregation, was completely renovated for an amount of nearly 5 million euros.
In June 2022, after three years of work, the building was completely transformed into a hotel with sixteen rooms, including six suites, and opened its doors to tourists. Two years later, the four-star establishment, which employs twenty-five employees, wants to make this known to accelerate its development. “Today, we are in place, our accounts are in balance and the team is solid,” explains Matthieu Stauff. The director of the Château de Fiac, responsible for operations and associated with the owner of the walls Gordon Oldham, is already thinking of pushing the walls of the castle with the construction within two years of a new building which would accommodate eight additional rooms .
Tourist and business customers
If the hotel is one of the strategic pillars of the establishment, it is not the only one. To stand out from the competition, it offers qualified quality services: well-being, with a spa area (two Icelandic pools, hammam, swimming pool, etc.), pilates classes and even the exclusion of children. “This is our positioning”, specifies Matthieu Stauff on the subject of “ no kids » (no children). “It’s complicated for our customers aged 35 to 55 who want to relax from caring for other people’s children. »
To attract a local clientele, the Château de Fiac highlights its restaurant: a table of thirty-five seats, which claims to be gourmet at affordable prices. Finally, the Château de Fiac also wants to attract a business clientele: it provides businesses with 180 m² of modular space so that they can organize their seminars.
Audrey Sommazi
In the photo: The castle of Fiac, near Lavaur, in Tarn. Credits: Château de Fiac.
